Joyful
by nie2294
Summary: Soubi got new orders from his master to leave Ritsuka. Desperate, the boy decides to attend to Seven Voices and finds out that he isn't a normal sacrifice. There will be an eventual romantic evolvement of Ritsuka/Soubi. Set after Vol. 9.
1. Other Plans

**Joyful**

**Chapter 1 - Other Plans**

„Soubi, your time with Ritsuka is over now; I have other plans for you. Come with me." Seimei stood in front of the open window, looking at Soubi coldly. Ritsuka could feel his fighter fidget behind his back while he stared at his brother. Just a month ago, his brother had told him that he loved him more than anything in the world. And now, he stood there in his room ignoring him completely and wanted to take Soubi, Ritsuka´s only protection of the world, away from him. "No," he whispered barely audible, desperately searching for some sign of his old brother in the man's eyes in front of him.

Soubi put a hand on Ritsuka's shoulder squeezing it tightly, as if holding for support. He could easily feel his fighter's distress. _The destiny of a fighter is to be commanded. _Ritsuka shivered at that thought. Soubi didn't have a choice. He had to obey. The only thing he could do was try to convince Seimei of ordering Soubi to stay. But seeing those cold, determined eyes, he knew it was useless. He couldn't talk up to his brother now, he was too confused. Why was he doing this to him? Did he really stop loving him?

In an annoyed tone, Seimei added, "that's an order, Soubi." The fighter took a hesitant step towards his former master but still didn't let go of Ritsuka's shoulder. The boy wanted to cling to that hand, wanted to stop Soubi, hold him close and never let go. But he knew he couldn't. Soubi, being the fighter he was, could not object to a direct order of his master. He didn't have to make things more complicated for both of them. If he ordered him to stay, Soubi would still have to go. Both would feel horrible: Ritsuka betrayed and - more importantly - Soubi would feel guilty.  
>"Soubi, it's okay… go with him…take… care…," Ritsuka's voice broke, he could feel the big hand on his shoulder tensing, hesitating. The black haired boy tried to take a breath, he felt like he was suffocating. He wanted to cling to Soubi, plead him to stay with him, to remind him of his promise to always be there for him. But he knew that would only be tormenting. After a few seconds he managed to choke out "that's… an order…"<p>

He could feel the pressure on his shoulder lessen and looked away, as Soubi slowly dragged himself over to Beloved. "Ah, Soubi… I didn't expect this to be that easy… Thank you, for your cooperation, Ritsuka"

"… Wait… Seimei…! Where are you going now…? When are you going to come back home?" Ritsuka knew how childish those questions sounded. He wasn't that naive anymore; he knew Seimei wasn't the person he thought he had been.

But that was his brother standing in front of him. He had been the first and only person he had actually trusted since his loss of memories. He had been the only person to accept him the way he was, always so concerned about him, always dressing his wounds, never getting mad at him.

Ritsuka tried to find at least a glint of the warmth his brother had had in his eyes every time he had looked at him. But he couldn't find any trace of his brother anymore. The purple eyes, so similar to his own, stared at him neutrally, Seimei's expression emotionless. "My home isn't here anymore. You've missed your chance, you refused. It's your own fault. ", Ritsuka shook his head, "no, Seimei. I do love you. You know that. I've always loved you. There have just been some…", he was cut off by Seimei's emotionless, dry laugh. "No, that isn't love. It has to be unconditionally, I gave you the opportunity to show and prove your love, to give everything up for me. But you didn't. It was your decision. That's fine with me, but don't expect me to forgive you now, or even love you." Seimei turned around and headed for the balcony "Soubi, we're going." Ritsuka didn't dare to look up; he didn't want to show his hurt expression, he didn't want to watch Soubi walk out with his brother. He didn't want to see Seimei so unaffected of this, he didn't want to see if Soubi cared at all. Maybe he was even happy to finally have his proper master back… Maybe he was relieved to finally be ordered around…Maybe this had always been planned out…

Ritsuka continued to stand in the middle of his room, staring at a shadow on the carpet. He couldn't cry, the thoughts circled in his head. At the beginning nothing made sense, just words and little phrases swirling around him: _Seimei…love…hate…home…order…Sacrifice…it's fine with me…Soubi…_

But little by little it began to sink in.

_I'm alone again._

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><p><em><strong>AN:<strong>  
>English isn't my first language, so I apologize for the mistakes. Please point them out! … Some feedbackreviews would be great! _

_Should I continue this story? I know pretty much how the story will continue, but if you have any suggestions, go ahead!_

_I tried to make up a totally new story, but I don't think that actually is possible, considering the huge amount of fanfiction here, so I apologize if I used some ideas of existing stories._

_I don't own Loveless or any of the characters. _


	2. Decisions

**2. Decisions**

_I'm alone again. _

The boy sank to his knees, he felt empty. He pulled out his cell phone, the present which Soubi had given to him. There was no flashing red light indicating a new message. Ritsuka stared at it, desperately hoping for it to ring; hoping for Soubi to call him, telling him that he was on his way back. _Staring at it won't make it ring…_Frowning, Ritsuka pressed the buttons for the speed dial, "…the number you have called is currently not available...," he dropped the phone, silent tears running down his cheeks. _I will always pick up…_he remembered his fighter's promise which had been broken so many times. But he should have known that Soubi's promises were worth nothing, especially now that he was with his beloved master again. He probably had new orders; taking care of Ritsuka had only been one of many, the command was finally accomplished. He had known this all along; he had even ordered Soubi to go with Seimei. Why was he so disappointed?  
>Seimei… why did he do this to him? What had happened to his loving brother? What had made him so cold hearted…? With Soubi his last connection to his older brother was gone. Everything was gone…<p>

A loud knock on the door interrupted his train of thoughts. "Ritsuka, come downstairs, dinner is ready!" Startled, the boy sat upright, "I'm coming, mom!" He had tried to call loudly but his voice sounded hoarse, weak. He tried not to think about how his life continued from now on, he couldn't imagine it. Now he'd have to go downstairs and try to pick the right food; tonight he would have to go to bed; tomorrow he would have to go to school. _As if nothing changed._  
>He sighed, wiped away the tears, put up a fake smile on his face erasing the evidence of the last painful hours.<p>

He stared at the food, trying to remember what the old Ritsuka had liked. He didn't care enough; it all looked boring; the noodle in his mouth tasted like nothing, neither good nor bad. After forcing himself to some more noodles, he put his chopsticks away. "Thank you, mother…," he still wore the same fake smile. Apparently she didn't test him today…"Oh, you're already done? Don't you like it?", " I do, but I'm not hungry today, I'm sorry…" , she frowned, disappointment and anger flashing in her eyes, "Who are you? MY Ritsuka wouldn't hide in his room; he wouldn't cry to himself, he would come to mommy to let her help him. HOW DARE YOU WEAR HIS BEAUTIFUL FACE?...," the screaming went on, he didn't object. He knew he wasn't the old Ritsuka. He didn't even remember him; he didn't know what he was like. The old Ritsuka had been loved by everyone: his mother, his father and… Seimei…  
>He had no right to claim his life, his friends and family to himself. He would never be able to do as expected; he would never achieve to be the Ritsuka everyone wanted.<br>Ritsuka didn't even feel the blows, the slaps on his skin. There was pain, but he didn't register it. There was some liquid running down his arms and his temple but it didn't matter. He turned around, slowly getting away from his fighting mother. "YOU ARE NOT MY SON!" this was the last thing he heard, before he silently closed the door to his room.

There was nothing worth staying there anymore: his mother would only be waiting for the 'old Ritsuka' to reappear. As much as he tried to be like him, he couldn't fool anybody - neither Misaki nor himself- he would never be him. Each day he would continue to eat food not meant for him.  
>After school, there would be no more Soubi waiting for him, leaning against the wall, calmly smoking. He'd miss that smell he hated but loved so much at the same time. He'd miss their daily little struggle over smoking in front of an elementary school. There would be no more senseless discussing over useless punishments, no more "I love y…"<br>His thoughts were interrupted by a weird ringing. He felt it pierce through his ears, indicating a fighter unit nearby. What could he do without a fighter? He, as a lone sacrifice, couldn't do much. Slowly, Ritsuka realized how defenceless and powerless he was without Soubi. Somewhere out there was the next cruel pair waiting for him to be retrieved to the academy. _Why am I still fighting it? Why do I insist on staying here? _He was tired of it; if he went there, he could restart, he would be told of what to do, he could learn how to be a proper sacrifice - maybe finally he'd learn how to protect someone he loved. Someday he would be equal to Seimei.  
>But more importantly, he didn't have to act like somebody he didn't know.<p>

Slowly the intensity of the ringing increased, while Ritsuka gathered some of his belongings, taking only the essential: Apart from a few clothes, he only took his camera and three pictures: one of his family, one of Soubi and one of Yuiko and Yayoi.  
>A pang of guilt engulfed him. Yuiko would surely miss him…but he just had to trust Yayoi on comforting her, hopefully she'd finally see all the love that boy carried for her.<p>

By now the ringing had intensified to an annoying rate. He had to hurry; so the boy picked up his small bag and headed down the hallway. He could hear Misaki sobbing in her room as he quietly approached it. Hesitantly, he knocked at the door, "mom?" He had to say good bye; he couldn't just leave her here all alone without another word. As expected, the yelling started immediately "GO AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE!" He could hear something crashing against the wall, so he wanted to wait for her to calm back down. The fighter pair was really close now, he couldn't wait any longer and neither the screaming nor the sounds of destruction subsided. Sadly, he silently mumbled, "alright mother, I'm going now, good bye…, "and he turned around, walked out of his door, taking the last steps towards the source of the unnerving ringing.

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><p>I don't own Loveless<p> 


	3. Cigarettes

**3. Cigarettes**

Ritsuka didn't have to go far. Right down the street he could see two cigarette butts glowing in the dark; the people smoking them were barely visible through the night. Approaching them, one of the shining points dropped to the ground and was put out. Hesitantly, Ritsuka stopped a few feet away, unsure of what to say or to do. He was caught completely off guard as he suddenly heard a hoarse voice: "battle system initiate!"  
>He was met by total darkness, all the light of the houses around him vanished. The unit didn't leave him any time to explain, didn't even introduce themselves, the fighter just launched an attack: "Leaves turn into knives, attack!"<em><br>What a simple move, Soubi would have turned it down right away. But I can't even stop one single of those blades…_He just stood there, looking at the duo dumbly, not even trying to dodge the sharp metal.  
>Pain shot through him as the first found its way to his delicate skin, continuing what his mother begun, adding new gashes and reopening old wounds. He hissed, trying to wipe some blood of his cheek, while heavy chains tightened around his arms and neck, making breathing difficult. Gasping for air, he wanted to tell them to end this battle, he hadn't wanted to fight; he had just wanted to go with them. But again they cut off his attempts to speak, yelling another spell at him. "No… stop...," again his voice sounded weak, he himself could barely hear it. A huge fire ball rolled towards him, some flames licking at his skin already. The new burning pain gave him new strength, "STOP!" He stumbled backwards, away from the fire, which still circled but didn't approach him anymore; it looked as if the ball bounced against an invisible barrier. He was still able to feel the heat coming from it, burning his lungs as he tried to breathe with the ever tightening shackles. "I…," he coughed, "forfeit".<br>Slightly lightheaded from the loss of blood, Ritsuka sunk to the ground as the street came back to view. The mysterious fighter pair stepped into the spot of a streetlight, the sacrifice stepped forward, "We're Speechless, I'm Hajime and this is Isao. You're going to come with us. Ritsu-sensei is awaiting you." Ritsuka didn't bother to answer, so he just nodded and picked up his bag. Taking a look at the duffle bag, Hajime only raised an eyebrow, not questioning his motives and turned away. _Not the talkative type. Fine with me…_  
>Ritsuka had to fully focus now on standing up straight again and walking behind them.<br>By the time he got pushed into a little rusty car, most of the blood had dried already, but two cuts still bled profusely. Glad that Soubi had made him take a first aid kit everywhere he went alone, he took out some bandages and wrapped the gashes. He didn't bother to take off his torn shirt and just pulled a sweatshirt over it.  
>Slowly he began to tremble, exhaustion and fear finally taking over him. He closed his eyes, leaned against the seat and took a shuddering breath. He could hear the pair walking around the car and settling down in the front seats, still completely silent. Apart from the "introduction" Ritsuka hadn't heard them say a single word, neither to him nor to each other.<br>Due to that, he was caught by surprise as Isao turned around, and offered him a cigarette out of a light blue pack. Ritsuka recognized it as the brand Soubi always used to smoke.  
>Ritsuka, who still had problems with his shaking hands, reluctantly took one. Again, neither of them commented on the fact that a 14 year old smoked. Ritsuka inwardly shrugged; it wasn't completely unusual after all.<p>

The lighter in front of him clicked. Over the years Ritsuka had watched his fighter smoke a lot, so he knew in the abstract how to do it. But it turned out to be more complicated than expected. Ignoring Isao's smirk at his cough, Ritsuka took his first drag.  
>He had never felt anything this amazing before: It seemed as if Soubi was really close to him. His smell lingered all around him. He felt him inside his body: the scent in his nose, the taste in his mouth. He took another drag. He was <em>breathing <em>Soubi.  
>He imagined Soubi brushing his fingers against his cheek, chuckling at the blush creeping over Ritsuka's face. He closed his eyes; opposed to his usual reaction, he tried to lean into the touch.<br>Again he lifted the cigarette to his lips. It tasted the same as Soubi's kisses. He remembered the last time after a battle. He could almost feel Soubi's lips on his, the usual tingling sensation and his hot breath against his skin.  
>Slowly calming down, Ritsuka stopped shaking and enjoyed his first smoke, lost in memories.<p>

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><p>Thanks for reading!<br>I wasn't sure about the battle, any suggestions?

If somebody is wondering what Soubi's doing... I'll try to write that in the next chapter. But Soubi is a lot harder for me to write of...

I still don't own loveless (which probably is a good thing, because my drawing sucks)


	4. Silver Butterflies

**4. Silver Butterflies**

Ritsuka wasn't able to feel Soubi's presence anymore. His cigarette was gone and the scent wasn't noticeable anymore. Exhausted, Ritsuka looked out of the window, lights flashing by. His eyes kept shutting but he forced them open again. He didn't want to sleep in this car; he felt more in control of the situation being awake.  
>The complete silence, apart from the loud engine, and his hurting body made him lose all track of time. He didn't really care what happened, so he didn't look up when they arrived at the school.<br>Isao opened his door and waited for Ritsuka to climb out. The boy couldn't suppress a groan when he begun to move again, feeling the extent of his injuries. He tried to stand up, but swayed dangerously. He would've fallen if Isao hadn't caught him before. Trying to blink away the stars behind his eyes, Ritsuka muttered a quiet "thank you."  
>Predictably, there was no response to this and he was guided to the entrance. The same woman as last time greeted them, but this time she didn't ask why they were there. Instead she wanted to know if she should get Ritsu-Sensei. Hajime shook his head, "No, Ritsuka needs to see the nurse first. Anyway, I have to talk to Sensei beforehand."<br>"Very well. You know where to go." She bowed and opened a door for them.  
>From that moment everything was fuzzy and blurry. Ritsuka barely registered the long white corridors, stumbling over his feet, only being held by the Speechless Sacrifice. He was laid into a bed and felt the sting of antiseptic before he fell into darkness.<p>

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><p>Soubi splashed his face with cold water. He was exhausted. He had forgotten how tiring it was to spend a day with Seimei. He had been spoilt by his time with Ritsuka who was at school most of the day and went to bed early, at least compared to Soubi. Now, with Seimei, he didn't have any time for himself, he barely managed to smoke from time to time, let alone to draw anything. It wasn't only being kept busy the whole day and most of the night which drained him, but mostly the permanent, everlasting tension. Seimei had specific orders for him which of course had to be done exactly that way. It wasn't possible to bend commands in the way Soubi had done it with Ritsuka as his Sacrifice. Now, he didn't have to remind his master that there was the possibility of punishment if he displeased him. No, Seimei even considered punishment before the error has been made. The option of making a mistake didn't exist.<br>Soubi looked into the mirror, disgusted by what he saw: The yellowish light made him look sick and his eyes seemed darker than usually, blankly reflecting the room. There didn't seem to be any depth within them. Letting it wander, his gaze locked on the little silver earrings glinting through his hair. He stared at them, remembering how reluctantly Ritsuka had pierced them through his skin. His cute little hands had been shaking and he had been biting his lip in concentration. Soubi smiled at the memory. That had been one of the first times that Ritsuka let Soubi hold him. They had actually thought it would strengthen their bond. How naïve… The bond was never meant to be. It couldn't work; mere orders couldn't change the fact that he had a perfect bond already. Those two names so opposed to each other couldn't operate at the same time: Carrying out _Beloved's _orders while trying to fulfil _Loveless' _wishes… it was impossible.  
>Soubi sighed; he missed his young Sacrifice already…sometimes he had had the impression that the boy actually cared about him, that he believed in him…<br>It knocked at the door, he heard Seimei's demanding voice, "Soubi, we have to go right now, get out of there!" Startled, Soubi looked at his watch. He had been standing in front of this mirror for ten minutes now. This had to stop. He had to focus on his orders. This was his only function; he couldn't sway in old memories anymore; Ritsuka was something of his past now. He had been foolish to think that something had changed because of Seimei's absence. He was still only a fighter, a tool.  
>Determined, he pulled the silver butterflies out of his ears and looked for the trash. "Soubi!" He quickly opened the door, slipping the earrings into his pocket. "I'm sorry, master." He was greeted by a slap in his face, "I don't ever want to wait for you again", his master whispered with a soft, innocent voice. Soubi didn't flinch but looked down submissively, "understood."<br>He reached down to grab his bag and stepped out of his own flat after Seimei. He could hear Kio run up the stairs, already happily shouting his name from the first floor. He didn't even look up, as his friend reached the top stairs, stopped dead in his tracks staring at Seimei with his mouth hanging wide open, letting his lollipop fall right out of it. Rushing past him, Soubi easily freed himself from Kio's sudden grasp on his arm, and followed his master without another word.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong>

I still don't own Loveless or any of the characters...  
>Comments and constructive criticism would be great =)<br>Thanks for reading and all the nice reviews!


	5. Unique Twofold

**5. Unique Twofold**

There was nothing but darkness around him. He couldn't see what he was standing on, but it seemed to be a smooth surface. There was wind swirling around of him, gently caressing his cheeks, messing up his hair. He took a deep, silent breath. Silent? Suddenly he realized how quiet it was. Too quiet. He should be able to hear the wind, his breath, … anything. But there was nothing. It was oppressing. He gasped, suddenly the wind picked up, ripped at his clothes, pushed and pulled him. He began to struggle to stay in an upright position. He had to go somewhere, but he didn't know where to, everything was black, there was nothing in front of him, nothing behind him, there was just nothingness. He began to scream, but no sound escaped his lips. The wind became too strong. He stumbled forward on the suddenly uneven ground, trying to orient himself. There was just darkness and silence. He fell to the ground, making the first sound. It was a loud crack and simultaneously everything around him shattered into pieces. Shards were picked up by the wind, whipped against his skin. And then he fell.

Ritsuka jerked up into a sitting position. Panting heavily, he rubbed his eyes and tried to calm down. Groggily, he searched for the light switch, but his fingers only met with a plain metal nightstand next to his bed. He tensed up and looked around frantically, trying to figure out where he was. He could make out the vague forms of a bare room, two rows of beds, little nightstands next to them. The only source of light was coming from the moon shining in through the window. Why wasn't he at home? Why did his limbs feel so heavy, his mind foggy and his whole body drained? Something had happened; he knew about it already. He was sure that all he had to do was start thinking about it. He had the vague impression that he didn't _want _to remember, his body and mind yelling at him to just go back to sleep... to just forget...

But the train of thoughts could not be stopped anymore. Slowly but steadily the fog in his mind lifted and his memories returned: Soubi walking away with Seimei, the fight with his mother, his ignored good-bye, the encounter with Speechless and finally his arrival at the school. He began to tremble slightly, reliving each one of those moments, replaying them over and over again. After some agonizing minutes – or had it been mere seconds? - Ritsuka managed to block the images and took a shuddering breath. His head snapped up as he heard a sudden voice come from his right. "Concluding from your reaction, I assume that you remember yesterday's events." Ritsuka's eyes found a figure sitting not far from his bed. _How could he have overlooked him? _He could make out Minami Ritsu's tall and lean form, sitting upright on a typical plastic hospital-chair; a lightly-colored blindfold was covering his eyes. Ritsuka remained silent as the teacher continued, "It took you long enough. Don't expect me to always be as patient with you. Don't get used to it." There was a little pause as if Ritsu expected Ritsuka to counter something.

"Alright, on to topic. I've been told that you fought alone against Speechless. Where was your fighter?"

Ritsuka stared intently at the blanket and didn't reply. He flinched when Ritsu commanded in a sharp tone:

"Answer, kid! As mentioned before: I am not a patient person." Ritsuka kept his eyes locked on the creases of the white fabric and mumbled, "He... isn't my fighter anymore. My br... Seimei picked him up." - his voice was barely a whisper.

"Explain! What happened? I want to hear about it in detail. "

After Ritsuka's forced explanation Ritsu's lips turned into slight smirk, "so, this means Seimei has no more interest in you? Am I correct?"

Ritsuka closed his eyes and nodded once.

"I can't see you!"

Ritsuka clenched his hands into tight fists, "yes, Sensei."

"Pity. Would've come in handy."

"I'm not some sort of bait!" Ritsuka spat. He was now seething with anger. Seemingly unaware of the boy's distress, Ritsu ignored him and went silent for a while. Lost in thought, he talked to himself: "... hmmm.. Soubi won't be here then... that changes quite a lot of my plans..." Something odd was laced into Ritsu's voice – was it disappointment?

Ritsuka began to calm down. For the first time he was glad that Soubi wasn't with him anymore. He would've hated every second of his stay at this school. Last time, even with direct orders, he had been reluctant to accompany Ritsuka.

Ritsuka was snapped out of his thoughts, when Ritsu started talking again.

"The reason why I persistently sent out teams to pick you up and bring you to the academy, is that your battle frequency is quite... interesting. It's not the normal sacrifice-frequency but something stronger. It has a different tone. You shouldn't be able to make it out since it's your own... Anyway, yesterday's incidents finally put some light into that. In retrospect, I don't know how I could have missed it. It's so obvious and simple – yet so brilliant."

Ritsuka looked up confused. He was able to make out other team's frequencies, but he had never felt a difference between sacrifices and fighters. Why had nobody ever told him that there was something weird about him? How come there was always something odd about him? Couldn't he at least be normal in the fighter-world...

Ritsu went on:"You are not a mere sacrifice. You are more than that: You are a fighter as well." - Ritsu was almost fidgeting in his chair. Leaning forward with a – for Ritsu unfitting – excited expression, he somehow seemed to stare intently at Ritsuka through the blindfold. Ritsuka's eyes widened. "What? No, .. what? That's not possible.. Soubi?"

"Exactly - Soubi: He wasn't there when Speechless attacked you. Doesn't it strike you as odd that you've been in a battle all alone?"

"Uhm.. not really? I mean, Soubi fights alone all the ti.. "

"Yes, because Soubi is a fighter", Ritsu cut in. As Ritsuka continued to look at him confused, the teacher huffed annoyed and began to explain: "Didn't Soubi teach you anything? Sacrifices aren't able to fight alone. They only take the damage, they can't hold up the battle field nor can they direct spells. Their purpose is to be the architect, the strategist of the fight, as well as taking the responsibility for it. The execution is up to the fighter. He is the one who makes it all work. That's why fighters can fight on 'auto'. Sacrifices on the other hand aren't meant to fight; their job is to stay focused on coming up with good tactics and to make sure their fighter can concentrate on their task without being held back by any physical damage. Thus, if a fighter is able to take upon the sacrifice's responsibility, he can fight alone."

"But I didn't fight back! I can't be a fighter."

"First of all, if you weren't, you wouldn't be able to hold up the battlefield and the fight wouldn't even have happened. What did you think? Such a field can't just appear out of nowhere. It feeds of energy the two opponent fighters emit. The stronger the fighters, the bigger the field. Sacrifices don't emit energy, so they are of no use for the field itself. Secondly, you did fight back." Ritsuka opened his mouth to protest but Ritsu went on without hesitation.

"I believe it was subconsciously, but you did cast a spell. Speechless told me you said 'stop'. I must admit, I am quite astonished myself that this simple word turned into a spell, without you even meaning to cast one. It was pretty weak, but it was able to keep the.. fireball – wasn't it? - from burning you completely. No sacrifice should be able to do that."

"So... I am not a sacrifice, but a fighter now?" Ritsuka looked at Ritsu perplexed. The teacher groaned.

"Did you not listen to anything I just said? It's not something temporary, you've been this way since your birth. Also, you are not only a fighter. You are a fighter as well as a sacrifice. You worked as a sacrifice with Soubi, didn't you? If you were only a fighter, you wouldn't have been able to take the damage for him. A fighter can either fight on auto or with a sacrifice, but they can't suddenly become a sacrifice for another fighter. You are the exception to this rule, which makes you quite valuable – which is if you use your abilities accordingly. Thus, you will be trained at this school in both fields. It's a shame you didn't arrive here earlier. Due to your resistance you are far behind the other students your age. I expect you to work hard to catch up and to surpass the other students; you will also receive special training. I will inform you about details tomorrow. As for now, go to sleep! You should be good enough to be released by tomorrow. Come to my office right afterwards. I hope to have your schedule planned by then. Why does the day have only 24 hours? " That little, half crooked grin was gracing the older man's lips again.

"But how..." Ritsuka didn't even know what he wanted to ask. He quickly snapped his mouth shut as Ritsu blocked it in its tracks.

"No more questions. Welcome to the academy. Good night."

He got up abruptly, grabbed his cane and walked straightly to the exist of the infirmary. He stopped once more by the door but did not turn back to Ritsuka.

"Oh, one more thing: No more painkillers for you. They impair your thought process significantly."

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><p><strong>AN:<strong>  
>I am very, very, very sorry for letting you wait for such a long time. I've had a really stressful year (final year of school) and I had a major writers block.<p>

I don't know if you even remember this story. I understand if nobody wants to read it anymore.. I just read through all of your lovely comments a couple of weeks ago and got motivated again.  
>I really hope to update some time soon again, tell me if you are interested.<p>

Apologies for all mistakes - I am still no native speaker and at the moment my beta is unavailable. Please point out errors, I really want to improve!

Thank you for reading, I've missed this fandom


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